27°
Mendoza, who has lived in Norwalk, turns 54 on Tuesday. The music arranger, conductor and composer was born Nov. 17, 1961, in Norwalk.
Mendoza began learning classical guitar and piano from an early age and his musical influences ran from Bach to Aretha Franklin to Henry Mancini.
He was signed to Blue Note Records, with whom he released “Start Here” and “Instructions Inside."
His work involves various musical styles. He has produced and arranged for singers as diverse as Robbie Williams, Björk, Elvis Costello and six Grammy Award-winning albums, "Travelogue," "Both Sides Now with Joni Mitchell," "Some Skunk Funk," "Brown Street," "El Viento" and "54."
From 2005 to 2013, he was chief conductor of the Dutch Metropole Orchestra.
He was also nominated by the Jazz Journalists Association as arranger of the year.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.
